


Man in Blue

by InEveryUniverse_SC



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: David loves to read, M/M, Meet-Cute, alternate first meeting, cheese fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 07:28:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21799939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InEveryUniverse_SC/pseuds/InEveryUniverse_SC
Summary: When David's favorite chair in his favorite bookstore is occupied by a man in blue week after week, he has many feelings.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 40
Kudos: 115
Collections: Schitt's Creek Open Fic Night 2.0





	Man in Blue

He liked going to the bookstore. It was a place his mind could be at ease. He liked the smell of the ink on the pages, and the feel of the pages as they flipped through his fingers.

He liked to open the cover of a book he’d never think to read, flip to a page in the middle just to see if he’d be compelled enough to want to read more.

He liked the reading nook with soft leather chairs in every color, a perfect contrast to his own monochrome, scratchy esthetic. He always sat in the blue chair. While the other colors were flashy and bright, he found this blue to be steadying and calming.

He liked letting his mind drift. He liked losing track of time.

He liked this bookstore because it was comfortable. The owner knew every title of every book, and if you asked him, he’d tell you why he carried it. Books didn’t just hold stories on this inside. There was as much a story to the person holding the book and the ideas the book inspired, than there was to the story inside.

David knew that.

*

It was a Tuesday and it was cold outside. The bookstore was warm and inviting, and strung with colorful lights.

There were more people here today than on a usual Tuesday. More heavy coats and thick scarves, more bumping, more exchanges of “_pardon me_” and “_so sorry_” as one-time customers browsed the store for best sellers or eye-catching covers.

A man sat in David’s chair. He waited patiently, but he eventually conceded. David would have to make do with the yellow chair today. He settled in uncomfortably as he tried to focus on the book of poetry he’d selected.

The man read a book on business acumen, David observed. His blue button down blended into the blue leather. Somehow, he looked like a perfect fit in David’s chair. He hoped he wouldn’t be here next Tuesday.

*

Another Tuesday arrived, the second in December, with an even larger crowd than the week before.

David smiled at the old man’s excitement as he happily rang up one customer after the next. He could probably pay his rent from one night of holiday sales, and for that, David could tolerate the crowds.

He found his way to his favorite blue chair, but to his dismay the man in blue had found it first. Baseball Prospectus. Blue button down. A cup of tea.

David made peace with the green chair this time, but not with the man in blue.

He read about the Colosseums and sipped his caramel macchiato, savoring the sweet taste of cocoa powder. As the crowd thinned and the soft music finally switched off, he sadly closed the book.

The store always closed before he was ready to leave. Sometimes he wished he could stay forever.

As he made his way to the register, he glanced at his chair and saw the man in blue still there. He’d nodded off, and as much as David felt annoyed, it was sweet. He could understand being so content here that sleep would come easy.

He placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. “The store is closing, it’s time to go,” he said softly.

The man in blue opened his sleepy eyes. “Thanks,” he responded, just as hushed and a tinge of pink on his cheeks. He stood made his way outside.

*

The third Tuesday brought with it an unfamiliar feeling of anticipation that tickled David’s stomach as he entered his favorite store.

The crowd was a bit smaller as the cold bit down. He selected a book and headed to the reading nook, torn between hopes for his favorite blue chair and hopes to see the man in blue.

There, again, he sat in David’s chair. A curious expression donned the man’s face as he skimmed through the same book of poetry David had purchased just two weeks before. And David’s heart warmed just a little. He longed to know the man’s thoughts of the poem on page 63. Did the poem that David had read every night since he first saw this intriguing stranger hold any meaning in the heart of the man in blue?

It was about love. How you could try to hide from it, ignore it, deny yourself of it, but no matter what you do, sometimes love finds you. And you might not recognize it. It might feel like anger at first, or frustration. It might be inconvenient. It might even hurt. But if it _is_ love, it won’t stop trying. It won’t give up. You can trust it. You can surrender.

He leaned against the empty wall, and looked at the man in blue. And not for the first time, he felt anger. He felt frustration. He was inconvenienced, and his legs ached. And he thought maybe, just maybe, he understood.

He longed to tell the man in blue. Instead, he busied himself, reading and thinking and watching. Dreaming.

*

On the fourth Thursday, there was no man in blue. And while he felt like something was missing, he happily settled into his favorite chair.

He dove into the history of art in Paris, and dreamed of seeing it in person one day. He let his daydream take over until he drifted away to somewhere else. Somewhere too far away.

A soft touch to his shoulder and a presence above him brought him back to the present. Standing above him was the man in blue.

He was looking at David, but David was entirely unsure of why.

“You’re sitting in my chair.”

David noticed a glimmer of something in his eyes. But as he rubbed his own eyes, coming back to consciousness, he remembered. He did not like this man at all.

“I think you are mistaken.”

The man smiled softly, and David did not.

“I think I’d know if someone was sitting in my chair,” the man said, his smile turning smug.

“This is not your chair.” And the cheerful grin David was rewarded with had him reeling. “In fact, I’ve sat in this chair every single Tuesday evening since I moved to this town.”

David looked back to his book, hoping that would be the end.

“That’s funny, because _I’ve_ actually sat in this very chair every single Tuesday evening since _I moved_ to this town.

Annoyed and dismayed, David met his gaze once more. “Well that’s just not true. And when did you move here, _man in blue_?”

“I have a name.”

And that was charming, but David was not one to back down. “That’s irrelevant. And I asked you a question.”

The man leaned down, talking lower. “I moved here three weeks ago. And every Tuesday, I’ve come here. And I’ve sat in this chair. And _you_ have not. You’ve sat in the green chair, the yellow chair, and one time you leaned on that wall. It was impressive actually. You were here for over an hour reading while standing up. It didn’t seem… comfortable.”

_Shit_. David really liked his sass. And for the first time in, well, forever, he was being out-sassed.

“I had no choice. Someone sat in my chair.” He tried. He really did. He didn’t want to smile at the man. He held his face firm. He could feel it betraying him.

He tried to focus on his book once more.

“And, when did you move here, man in… monochrome?”

David couldn’t not smile at that. _Man in monochrome_. He’d never loved being called anything as much as he loved _that_. But he couldn’t help himself. “I _also_ have a name.”

“I thought that names were irrelevant,” the man teased back.

He closed the book and placed it in his lap. “You’re very distracting.”

“Hmmm. Well I don’t think we’re going to settle this anytime soon.”

“I agree. Have a good night.” David said dismissively. He opened his book, begging to be interrupted again.

The man still hovered too close. And after a moment, David got his wish. The man’s voice was purring, now. “That’s not exactly what I had in mind.”

“And what did you have in mind?”

“Coffee. We should continue this over coffee.”

David wasn’t sure if by ‘_this’ _he meant the chair discussion, or the undeniable _something_ that was happening between them. He cleared his throat, feeling a little overwhelmed. “You’re...”

“Charming, I know,” he said, smiling. The man in blue extended his hand, and without realizing it, David was holding on.

“I’m Patrick.”

“David.”

When their hands touched, his heart fell all the way open. And so did his smile. And he had a feeling this time was different. That this was the start to something.

Maybe even love.

**Author's Note:**

> Beta’d by the ever so lovely **point_of_no_return** 😘


End file.
